mukasey will be confirmed, and in a walk. the explanation dems will offer is: if we didn’t put him in, the white house’s next candidate would be much much worse.

What would be worse than acknowledging that we torture with water-boarding and we’re okay with that?

Like funding for the war, like SCHIP, like everything, keep sending it back (even if you have to adjust it slightly to ‘clarify’ parts.

“no time-lines, no funding, no excuses” — John Edwards on Iraq war funding bills

Tonster @ 131:

Agreed about PhDs. All you need to do is stack your dissertation committee with friends and llies.

Another contrarian method is to stack it with opponents…who then argue with one another for the allocated time.

I never understood how she could have successfully defended a PhD dissertation using the obscurantist, smokescreen laying, run-out-the clock methods she employs in testimony. She hasn’t been quite so bad today.

I’m not sure that she had to defend it very thouroughly, and if she did then the Committee didn’t pick up some egregious errors…as other Sovietologists, Czech historians (it was on USSR-Czech relations), and just plain historians, have pointed out. But sometimes dissertation committees do actually approve people who have just this approach.

Apparently her book co-authored with the notorious Phil Zelikow is just as filled with mistakes and predictions that turned out to be 180 degrees in error. But, ironically, that wasn’t unusual at the time…the CIA and others in the Administration and outside got much of what they thought was happening in the USSR very wrong.

saber rattling….. it’s a great diversion. From what I can see, the Iranians didn’t even do anthing specific to escalate the situation this time. This is just more smoke from a fire of our own creation… from when we designated them (yesterday) something bad or other. This is really quite Orwellian.

A lot of the saber-rattling is directed at Russia. Russia has supplied the Bushehr light-water nuclear reactor to Iran and has its own inspectors going on. In fact, contrary to this vast “rush” to build the reactor it’s actually several years behind being operational. The Russians, and recently Al-Baradei, have stated that we have to separate what is really going on in that plant from what is being said to provoke one another.

Yet Bush has threatened Russia that their cooperation with Iran “Might start WWIII”. A World War is one in which significant powers draw support of other states against one another.

I see this threat by Bush as suggesting that the US might attack, not Iran (which would have about as many allies as Kim Jong-Il if it developed an actual nuclear weapon and tested it), but RUSSIA.

That of course would be Armageddon…THAT is what is being threatened by Bush to Putin!

http://www.thestate.com/372/story/202984.html

Sander — I linked this up yesterday, but there is a mass demonstration scheduled for this coming Saturday that fits what you are asking for…no idea if any of the scheduled locations are near you, but it is worth a peek. And that’s just one potential action step offline…

sander, lemmie know you heard me. I’m in boston this weekend for the march. i don’t care if there are 5 people there. i’m there, it’s a start. i’ll let you know how it goes. howard zinn is peaking. also M. benjamin i think among others. i gotta get physically connected with this somehow or the despair will be too much.

Christy, You and Jane are ameican hereos. Truly you are.

What I am advocating is a massive demonstration or national strike.. even for an hour. To demonstrate how large the dissatisfaction is. I am not advocating any destruction or harm. But if this is large enough and throughout the nation and coordinated it cannot be ignored by the media.

France does it, Italy does it. We need to let the people be heard NOW.

you’re my guy ,sanderO. My notes on condi’s hearing: Reps who took her down with hard facts and a good grilling: Tierney, Cummings, Lyndh (sp), Duncan (A true fiscal conservation repub — loved his outrage at money wasted), Sarbanes, DAvis, Hodes **, Maloney *, and others. Does your heart good to see them pissed. Hoping it’s not all show. Don’t really think so in these cases. Loved the quote from Wm F. Buckley of all people that continuing the war was “a misapplication of pride”. Condi is convinced that if her diction is good enough and her hair well starched she’ll sound smart, credible despite lack of reall info. And beware the use of words like “difficult” and complex” — euphemisms for “I’m too incompetent to do this job, feel sorry for me”. Note also constant references to “management” versus the importance of what inspector generalsl do. Corporate mentality rules.

Sander is right about the street. Thing is it’ll take ALL of us being there, national strike, peaceful march. I agree with the repub who said code pink’s bloody hand trick works against us. Dimishes credibility. Dignity bearing truth breeds credibility among the masses. Go on, tell me i’m wrong, but i’m know i’m not. I’m just some boneheaded mainer out here in the middle of nowhere surrounded by support our troops labelled pickup trucks. March on DC. Millions of people. Gandhi knew it all. And it would still work. It’ll happen. xo